Remote maintenance method, industrial device, and semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a remote maintenance method, a remote maintenance system, and an industrial device for enabling control and thorough services and billing according to the contents of the remote maintenance operation and the request destination of maintenance and enabling access limit according to the attribute of a service person, access limit according to the device state, and output limit according to the output mode. The industrial device  123  installed at the factory  120  and the operation device  113  installed in the maintenance center  110  are connected via the network  100.  The operation device  113  transmits command information indicating a command concerning maintenance to the industrial device  123  and the industrial device  123  executes a process according to the received command information, generates charge information indicating a charge concerning maintenance according to the contents of the executed process, and outputs the whole or a part of the generated charge information to the output device of the industrial device  123.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a billing method and device of a remotemaintenance system for an industrial device and more particularly to aremote maintenance method and a remote maintenance system and device forenabling control and thorough services and billing according to thecontents of maintenance.

2. Prior Art

Conventionally, it is proposed to connect an industrial device of amanufacturer to a maintenance center of a device supply vendor via apublic telephone line or Internet and remote-maintain the industrialdevice from the maintenance center. Japanese Application PatentLaid-open Publication No. Hei 11-15520 proposes a remote maintenancesystem using a network and by use of this system, regardless of theinstallation region of an industrial device, the industrial device canbe maintained.

In recent years, particularly in the semiconductor industry, the numberof installed industrial devices is rapidly increased due to a suddenincrease in capital investment. In such a state, the maintenance cost ofindustrial devices is likely to increase and it is a problem how tosuppress the maintenance cost. However, the previous general billingmethod for maintenance is a method for billing a manufacturer for afixed charge on the basis of the cost of an industrial device and thelabor costs of service persons and even when no device is maintainedactually, there is a case that the manufacturer must pay the fixedcharge. Further, in the remote maintenance system disclosed in JapaneseApplication Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei 11-15520, no billingmethod is described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention was developed with the foregoing problem in viewand is intended to provide a remote maintenance method, a remotemaintenance system, and an industrial device for enabling control andthorough services and billing according to the contents of the remotemaintenance operation and the request destination of maintenance andenabling access limit according to the attribute of a service person,access limit according to the device state, and output limit accordingto the output mode.

An embodiment of the present invention is a remote maintenance systemthat an industrial device for executing a specific process and anoperation device for maintaining the industrial device are connected toeach other via a network, which provides a remote maintenance methodcharacterized in that the operation device transmits command informationindicating a maintenance command to the industrial device and theindustrial device executes the process according to the received commandinformation, generates charge information indicating the value formaintenance according to the contents of the executed process, andoutputs the whole or a part of the generated charge information. By useof this method, control and thorough services and billing according tothe contents of the maintenance operation performed by the industrialdevice can be executed. Semiconductor devices characterized in that thedevices are manufactured using an industrial device managed by thisbilling method are also included in the category of the presentinvention.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a remote maintenancesystem that one or more industrial devices for executing a specificprocess and one or more operation devices for maintaining the industrialdevices are connected to each other via a network, which provides aremote maintenance method characterized in that each industrial devicemonitors an occurrence of a trouble in each industrial device, when eachindustrial device detects an occurrence of a trouble, generates statusinformation for identifying the condition of the trouble, decides theoperation device to be notified of the generated status information, andnotifies the generated status information to the decided operationdevice, and the operation device decides the troubleshooting method forthe trouble of the industrial device on the basis of the notified statusinformation and transmits command information indicating a maintenancecommand on the basis of the troubleshooting method to the industrialdevice, and the industrial device executes the process according to thereceived command information, generates charge information indicatingthe value for maintenance according to the identifier of the operationdevice to which the status information is notified, and outputs thewhole or a part of the generated charge information. By use of thismethod, control and thorough services and billing according to therequest destination of maintenance can be executed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the constitution of the system of thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the constitution of the semiconductormanufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a drawing showing the structure of a service person attributemanagement table managed by the semiconductor manufacturing device shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing the structure of a device state managementtable managed by the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing the structure of a program management tablestored in the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a drawing showing the structure of an execution authoritymanagement table stored in the semiconductor manufacturing device shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a drawing showing the structure of a program execution historymanagement table stored in the semiconductor manufacturing device shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a drawing showing the structure of a sensor state historymanagement table stored in the semiconductor manufacturing device shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a drawing showing the structure of a process result managementtable stored in the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a drawing showing the structure of an output controlmanagement table stored in the semiconductor manufacturing device shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a drawing showing the structure of a maintenance resultmanagement table stored in the semiconductor manufacturing device shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a drawing showing the structure of a maintenance chargemanagement table stored in the semiconductor manufacturing device shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is a drawing showing the structure of a message transmitted andreceived between the semiconductor manufacturing device and theoperation device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication unitof the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the operation of the operation deviceshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication unitof the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the operation of the control unit of thesemiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing the operation of the I/O unit of thesemiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 19 is a drawing showing the maintenance operation screen to bedisplayed on the operation device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 20 is a drawing showing the execution state output screen to bedisplayed on the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 21 is a drawing showing the maintenance charge notification screento be displayed on the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing the operation of the operation deviceshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication unitof the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 24 is a drawing showing the maintenance charge list setting screento be displayed on the operation device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing the operation of the operation deviceshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication unitof the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 27 is a drawing showing the output control setting screen to bedisplayed on the operation device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing the constitution of the system of thesecond embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication unitof the semiconductor manufacturing device shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 is a drawing showing the maintenance request transmissiondestination setting screen to be displayed on the semiconductormanufacturing device shown in FIG. 28.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The first embodiment of the present invention will be explainedhereunder in detail. This embodiment is a remote maintenance system fora semiconductor manufacturing device to which the present invention isapplied. This system enables thorough billing according to the contentsof maintenance. There are no restrictions on industrial devices whichcan be handled by the present invention except a built-in computer.However, in the explanation of this embodiment, various devices andsystems to be used for manufacture of semiconductors such as an exposuredevice, a coating developing device, a heat treating device, an assemblydevice, and an inspection device which are used at a semiconductormanufacturing plant as industrial devices are assumed. Here, thesedevices and systems are generally named a semiconductor manufacturingdevice.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the constitution of aremote maintenance system of a semiconductor manufacturing device towhich the present invention is applied. Numeral 110 indicates amaintenance center of a company for supplying a semiconductormanufacturing device (hereinafter recorded as a device supply vendor).Numeral 120 indicates a factory of a company for manufacturingsemiconductor devices using the semiconductor manufacturing device(hereinafter recorded as a semiconductor manufacturer). In the systemshown in FIG. 1, two factories 120 are indicated. However, there may bethree or more factories 120 actually. Further, the factories 120 maybelong to different semiconductor manufacturers or the samesemiconductor manufacturer.

In the maintenance center 110, one or more operation devices 113 formaintaining the semiconductor manufacturing device and a managementdevice 112 for managing communication to the maintenance center 110 areinstalled. Each operation device 113 and the management device 112 areconnected to each other via an intra-net 111. At each factory 120, oneor more semiconductor manufacturing devices 123 for manufacturingsemiconductor devices and a management device 122 for managingcommunication to the factories 120 are installed. Each semiconductormanufacturing device 123 and the management device 122 are connected toeach other via an intra-net 121. The management device 112 installed inthe maintenance center 110 is connected to the management device 122installed at each factory 120 via an Internet 100. Each device shown inFIG. 1 is a device using a single computer. Actually however, a singledevice may use a plurality of computers or a plurality of devices mayuse a single computer.

Each operation device 113 installed in the maintenance center 110 is adevice to be used to maintain each semiconductor manufacturing device123 by remote control by a service person of the maintenance center 110.Each operation device 112 has a function for, when it receives a messageindicating a maintenance request (hereinafter recorded as a maintenancerequest) from the management device 112, displaying the informationincluded in the maintenance request, for example, on a display unit. Theinformation included in the maintenance request includes data foridentifying the condition of a trouble (hereinafter recorded as astatus) and data for identifying the state for outputting the state ofthe maintenance operation to each semiconductor device (hereinafterrecorded as an output mode). The maintenance request includes, forexample, the trouble detection date and time, semiconductor factoryidentifier, semiconductor manufacturing device identifier, andsemiconductor manufacturing device kind.

The service person reads the displayed information and then judgeswhether troubleshooting is necessary online or not. When the serviceperson judges necessity of online troubleshooting, he inputs hisidentifier and password using the keyboard so as to notify the effect ofstart of the maintenance operation and presses the start notificationtransmission button using the mouse. Each operation device 113 has afunction for transmitting a message composed of the identifier andpassword of the service person input by the service person and theoutput mode taken out from the maintenance request (hereinafter recordedas a start notification) to each semiconductor manufacturing device 123online via the management device 112 and the management device 122. Uponreceipt of the start notification, each semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123 confirms the service person. By this confirmation, theservice person is discriminated by a unique identifier such as D1,D2, - - - .

The confirmed service person, so as to transmit a command to thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123, inputs the command composed ofthe identifier of the program to be executed by the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 and the parameter to be given to the programand the identifier of the file for storing execution results of theprogram using the keyboard and presses the maintenance operationtransmission button using the mouse. The service person may input aplurality of commands and file identifiers. The operation device 113 hasa function for transmitting a message composed of one or more commandsinput by the service person (hereinafter recorded as a maintenanceoperation) online to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 via themanagement device 112 and the management device 122.

Upon receipt of the maintenance operation from the operation device 113,the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 takes out all the commandsfrom the maintenance operation, executes the program designated by eachcommand using the parameter corresponding to each program, generates acommand response composed of execution results of the program for eachcommand after execution of the programs designated by all the commands,and transmits messages composed of these command responses (hereinafterrecorded as maintenance operation responses) to the operation device 113in a batch.

The operation device 113 has a function for, when the device 113receives the maintenance operation response from the semiconductormanufacturing device 123, taking out all the command responses stored inthe maintenance operation response, storing the execution results of theprogram stored in each command response in the file corresponding toeach command, and displaying the effect of reception of the maintenanceoperation response on the display unit.

The service person reading the displayed information, so as to confirmthe program execution results, presses the identifier of the file inwhich the program execution results are stored using the mouse. Theoperation device 113 has a function for displaying the contents of thepressed file on the display unit. The service person reading thedisplayed contents judges necessity of further troubleshooting, pressesthe continuation button using the mouse when it is necessary, inputs anew command and file identifier using the keyboard, and presses themaintenance operation transmission button using the mouse. The serviceperson repeats transmission of the maintenance operation until ending ofthe troubleshooting.

When the troubleshooting ends, the service person presses the completionnotification transmission button using the mouse. The operation device113 has a function for transmitting a message indicating the effect ofcompletion of the maintenance operation (hereinafter recorded as acompletion notification) online to the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123 via the management device 112 and the management device 122.Upon receipt of the completion notification, the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 calculates the charge for the concernedmaintenance according to the process contents of the program executedbetween reception of the start notification and reception of thecompletion notification and displays the calculated maintenance charge,for example, on the display unit. The calculation of the maintenancecharge may be executed by the management device 122 or a calculationdevice (not shown in the drawing) installed externally instead of thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123. In this embodiment, theoperation from transmission of the start notification to transmission ofthe completion notification is one maintenance operation.

The management device 112 installed in the maintenance center 110 is adevice for managing communication to the maintenance center 110. Themanagement device 112 has a function for periodically monitoring whethera maintenance request is received from the management device 122installed at each factor 120 or not and when a maintenance request isreceived, transmitting the maintenance request to the operation device113 used by a specific service person according to a predetermined rule.Further, the management device 112 has a function for transmitting eachmessage of the start notification, maintenance operation, and completionnotification transmitted from the operation device 113 in response tothe maintenance request to the management device 122 of the factory 120transmitting the maintenance request.

The management device 122 installed at the factory 120 is a device formanaging communication to the factory 120. The management device 122 hasa function for periodically monitoring whether a maintenance request isreceived from each semiconductor manufacturing device 123 or not andwhen a maintenance request is received, transmitting the maintenancerequest to the management device 122 of the maintenance center 110.Further, the management device 122 has a function for transmitting eachmessage of the start notification, maintenance operation, and completionnotification transmitted from the management device 112 of themaintenance center 110 in response to the maintenance request to thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 transmitting the maintenancerequest.

The semiconductor manufacturing device 123 installed at each factory 120is a device for manufacturing semiconductor devices by an engineer atthe factory 120. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the constitution ofthe semiconductor manufacturing device 123. The semiconductormanufacturing device 123 is composed of an I/O unit 130 for inputtingdata necessary to manufacture of semiconductor devices (hereinafterrecorded as a manufacture operation) by the engineer, a communicationunit 131 for transmitting and receiving each message of the maintenancerequest, start notification, maintenance operation, and completionnotification between the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 and themanagement device 122, a control unit 132 for executing the programsaccording to the maintenance operation and manufacture operation, andparts 133 controlled by the control unit 132.

The I/O unit 130 has a function for confirming an engineer whenever hestarts use of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123. The engineeris discriminated by a unique identifier such as U1, U2, - - - by thisconfirmation. When the engineer finishes the confirmation, he inputs themanufacture operation to the I/O unit 130 so as to manufacturesemiconductor devices.

The I/O unit 130 also has a function for transmitting data composed ofthe program identifier and parameter (hereinafter recorded as anexecution request) to the control unit 132 according to the inputmanufacture operation and when it receives the data storing the programexecution results (hereinafter recorded as an execution requestresponse) from the control unit 132, taking out the program executionresults from the execution request response, and displaying the programexecution results on the display unit.

The I/O unit 130 also has a function for recording the data indicatingthe output mode conditions necessary to output the state of themaintenance operation (hereinafter recorded as state output authority)in the output authority management table. The state output authority isinput at the factory of the device supply vendor at the time ofdelivery. In the state output authority, the data indicating whetherdisplay of each item of the execution date and time, identifier, andparameter of the executed program by the control unit 132 is to bepermitted or not according to the output mode for identifying the statefor outputting the maintenance operation state to the semiconductormanufacturing device.

The I/O unit 130 has a function for, when the unit 131 receives the datacomposed of the program execution date and time, program identifier, andparameter (hereinafter recorded as execution state) and the output modefor identifying the state for outputting the maintenance operation stateto the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 from the control unit 132,reading the state output authority from the output authority managementtable, confirming whether the output authority of each item of theexecution state is given or not on the basis of the received outputmode, and displaying the item of the execution state to which the outputauthority is given, for example, on the display unit.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for periodicallymonitoring the operating condition of the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123, generating a maintenance request composed of the status andoutput mode when the unit 131 detects an occurrence of a trouble, andtransmitting the generated maintenance request to the management device122 of the maintenance center 110 via the management device 122. Thecorrespondence of the contents of each trouble to the status ispredetermined. Further, the value of the output mode is input beforehandby the engineer. The maintenance request may include, in addition to thestatus and output mode aforementioned, for example, the troubledetection date and time, the identifier of the semiconductor factory,the identifier of the semiconductor manufacturing device, and thesemiconductor manufacturing device kind.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for recording the dataindicating the attribute of a service person (hereinafter recorded as aservice person attribute) in the service person attribute managementtable. The service person attribute data is input by the engineerbeforehand. In the service person attribute data, the password andtechnical level of the service person are stored.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for recording the dataindicating the program execution authority (hereinafter recorded asprogram execution authority) in the execution authority managementtable. The execution authority data is input by the engineer beforehand.In the execution authority data, the data indicating whether or not topermit program execution according to the service person attributeindicating the attribute of the service person and the data indicatingthe state of the device at that point of time (hereinafter recorded as adevice state) is stored. For the device state, for example, values ofproduction, standby, engineering, plan down-time, off-plan down-time,non-planning time, and indefinite are stored.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for discriminating themaintenance operation executed by a service person by a uniqueidentifier such as O1, O2, - - - and whenever the unit 131 receives eachmessage of start notification, maintenance operation, and completionnotification from the management device 122, corresponding the dataindicating the contents of these messages (hereinafter recorded asmaintenance results) to a specific identifier and recording it in themaintenance result management table. For the maintenance results, theinformation on when which service person on what technical leveltransmits what contents of a message in what output mode in what statethe device is set is recorded.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for recording the datafor designating the value for maintenance (hereinafter recorded as amaintenance charge list) in the maintenance charge list managementtable. The maintenance charge list is input at the factory of the devicesupply vendor at the time of delivery. In the maintenance charge list,according to the technical level of the service person, the device statewhen the program is executed, the kind of the read use historyinformation, and the output mode, the information on what value is to bebilled for the semiconductor manufacturer by the device vendor isrecorded. The value for maintenance is set higher as the technical levelof a service person is increased, higher as the possibility of adverseeffect on the manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturer isincreased, lower as the program more reads the secret information of thesemiconductor manufacturer, and higher as the condition of themaintenance operation is displayed more in detail.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for, when the unit 131receives a start notification from the management device 122, comparingthe password taken out from the start notification with the serviceperson attribute read from the service person attribute management tableand confirming the service person. As mentioned above, the serviceperson is discriminated by a unique identifier such as D1, D2, - - - bythis confirmation.

The communication unit 131 has a function for, when the unit 131receives the start notification from the management device 122, storingthe output mode taken out from the start notification until it receivesa completion notification.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for, when the unit 131receives the maintenance operation from the management device 122,taking out all the commands from the maintenance operation, executingthe program designated by each command, generating command responsescomposed of the program execution results for each command when theexecution of each program ends, and transmitting the maintenanceoperation responses composed of these command responses to the operationdevice 113.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for, so as to execute theprogram designated by each command, reading the service person attributeof a service person from the service person attribute management table,reading the device state at that point of time from the control unit132, reading the program execution authority of the program designatedby each command, confirming whether the program execution authoritydesignated by each command is given to the service person or not on thebasis of the service person attribute and device state, transmitting anexecution request composed of the program identifier and parameter andthe stored output mode to the control unit 132 only when the programexecution authority is given, and receiving an execution requestresponse storing the program execution results from the control unit132.

The communication unit 131 also has a function for reading themaintenance results and maintenance charge list respectively from themaintenance result management table and maintenance charge listmanagement table when the unit 131 receives the completion notificationfrom the management device 122, calculating the maintenance charge forthe concerned maintenance using the maintenance charge list data andmaintenance result data and requesting display of information concerningthe maintenance charge, for example, on the display unit to the I/O unit130 via the control unit 132.

The control unit 132 has a function for storing a program indicating theconditions and procedure of the process to be executed by the controlunit 132 in the program management table. In each program, theinformation on the conditions and procedures for executing the processis stored.

The control unit 132 also has a function for, when the control unit 132receives an execution request from the I/O unit 130, executing theprogram designated by the execution request using the parametercorresponding to it.

The control unit 132 also has a function for, when the control unit 132receives an execution request from the communication unit 131, executingthe program designated by the execution request using the parametercorresponding to it, transmitting the execution state composed of theprogram execution date and time, program identifier, and parameter andthe output mode designated by the execution request to the I/O unit 130,and transmitting an execution request response storing the programexecution results to the communication unit 131.

The control unit 132 also has a function for recording the dataindicating the history of the program executed according to theexecution request received from the I/O unit 130 (hereinafter recordedas a program execution history) in the program execution historymanagement table. In the program execution history, the information onwhich engineer executes what program using what parameter is stored.

The control unit 132 also has a function for recording the dataindicating the state of each part 134 controlled by the control unit 132(hereinafter recorded as a sensor state history) in the sensor statehistory management table. In the sensor state history, the informationon when what part is transited to what state is stored.

The control unit 132 also has a function for recording the dataindicating the state of a wafer processed by each part 134 (hereinafterrecorded as process results) in the process result management table. Inthe process results, the information on what wafer is put into whatstate is stored.

The control unit 132 also has a function for recording the dataindicating the history of the device state (hereinafter recorded as adevice state history) in the device state history management table. Inthe device condition history, the information on when the device istransited to what state is stored. The device state includes, forexample, production, standby, engineering, plan down-time, off-plandown-time, non-planning time, and indefinite.

The control unit 132 also has a function for, when the control unit 132receives a request from the communication unit 131, reading the devicestate indicating the state of the device at that point of time from thedevice state history management table and offering it to thecommunication unit 131.

Then, the structure of the table managed by the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 will be explained. FIG. 3 shows an example ofthe service person attribute management table managed by thecommunication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123.Each line of a service person attribute management table 140 stores theservice person attribute indicating the attribute of the service persondiscriminated by the ID value of the service person at the top. Theservice person attribute is composed of the items of “Service personID”, “Password”, and “Technical level”.

The item of “Service person ID” stores the data indicating theidentifier of the service person. The item of “Password” stores the dataindicating the password of the service person. The item of “Technicallevel” stores the data indicating the technical level of the serviceperson. This example indicates that the password of the service personD1 is 1234 and the technical level is a higher level and the password ofthe service person D2 is 5678 and the technical level is a medium level.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the device state management table managed bythe control unit 132 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123. Eachline of a device state management table 141 stores the device statehistory indicating the history of the device state. The device statehistory is composed of the items of “Transition date and time” and“Device state”. The item of “Transition date and time” stores the dataindicating the date and time when the device state is transited. Theitem of “Device state” stores the data indicating the state of thetransited device. This example indicates that the device is transited tothe production state at 10:10:10, Jan. 2, 2001 and the device istransited to the standby state at 10:15:10, Jan. 2, 2001. In the item of“Device state”, values of production, standby, engineering, plandown-time, off-plan down-time, non-planning time, and indefinite may beset.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the program management table managed by thecontrol unit 132 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123. Eachline of a program management table 142 stores a program indicating theconditions and procedure of the process to be executed by the controlunit 132. Each program is composed of the items of “Program ID”,“Program kind”, “Name”, “Processing condition”, and “Processingprocedure”.

The item of “Program ID” is data indicating a unique identifierallocated to each program. The item of “Program kind” is data indicatingthe program kind. The item of “Name” is data indicating the programname. The item of “Processing condition” is data indicating theconditions of the process to be executed by the control unit 132. Theitem of “Processing procedure” is data indicating the procedure of theprocess to be executed by the control unit 132. There may be a programrequiring no setting of processing conditions.

In this example, the program P1 is a program for reading a program,indicating that the program has the use history reading kind andexecutes the procedure named Program read.

The program P2 is a program for reading the program execution history,indicating that the program has the use history reading kind andexecutes the procedure named Program execution history read.

The program P3 is a program for reading the sensor state history,indicating that the program has the use history reading kind andexecutes the procedure named Sensor state history read.

The program P4 is a program for reading the processing results,indicating that the program has the use history reading kind andexecutes the procedure named Processing result read.

The program P5 is a program for generating a program, indicating thatthe program has the program operation kind and executes the procedurenamed Program create.

The program P6 is a program for editing a program, indicating that theprogram has the program operation kind and executes the procedure namedProgram edit.

The program P7 is a program for deleting a program, indicating that theprogram has the program operation kind and executes the procedure namedProgram delete.

The program P8 is a program for processing a wafer in the automaticmode, indicating that the program sequentially executes the proceduresnamed Wafer load, Wafer alignment, Addressing, Measurement, and Waferunload under the condition that the program has the wafer process kind,automatically processes wafers, uses the No. 1 slot, performs theprocess in wafer units, and stores measured wafer images in the image 1.

The program P9 is a program for processing a wafer in the manual mode,indicating that the program executes the same procedures as those of theprogram P8 under the condition that the program manually processeswafers, has the wafer process kind, uses the No. 2 slot, performs theprocess in wafer units, and stores measured wafer images in the image 1.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the execution authority management tablemanaged by the communication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123. Each line of an execution authority management table 143stores the program execution authority indicating the executionauthority of the program discriminated by the ID value of the program atthe top. The program execution authority is composed of the items of“Program ID” and “Execution authority”.

The item of “Program ID” stores the data indicating the programidentifier. The item of “Execution authority” stores the data indicatingwhether or not to permit program execution for a service personaccording to the service person attribute of the service personrequesting program execution and the state of the device at that pointof time.

In this example, the execution authority is expressed by a characterstring of 4 characters. The first two characters indicate the executionauthority for a service person that the value of the item of “Technicallevel” of the service person attribute is a higher level, and when thefirst two characters are “XX”, it means permission of executionregardless of the value of device state, and “X-” means permission ofexecution when the value of device state is Production state andrejection of execution when the value is other than it, and “-X” meansrejection of execution when the value of device state is Productionstate and permission of execution when the value is other than it, and“--” means rejection of execution regardless of the value of devicestate.

The next two characters indicate the execution authority for a serviceperson that the value of the item of “Technical level” of the serviceperson attribute is a medium level and the meaning thereof is the sameas that of the first two characters.

The programs P1 and P2 indicate permission of execution for a serviceperson that the value of the item of “Technical level” of the serviceperson attribute is a higher level regardless of the value of devicestate and rejection of execution for a service person that the value ofthe item of “Technical level” of the service person attribute is amedium level.

Further, the programs P2, P3, P5, P6, and P7 indicate rejection ofexecution for a service person that the value of the item of “Technicallevel” of the service person attribute is a higher level when the valueof device state is “Production” and permission of execution when thevalue of device state is “Others” and rejection of execution for aservice person that the value of the item of “Technical level” of theservice person attribute is a medium level regardless of the value ofdevice state.

Further, the programs P8 and P9 indicate rejection of execution forevery service person.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the program execution history managementtable managed by the communication unit 132 of the semiconductormanufacturing device 123. Each line of a program execution historymanagement table 144 stores the program execution history indicating thehistory of the executed program. The program execution history iscomposed of the items of “Execution date and time”, “Engineer ID”,“Program ID”, and “Parameter”.

The item of “Execution date and time” stores the data indicating thedate and time when the program is executed. The item of “Engineer ID”stores the data indicating the identifier of the engineer executing theprogram. The item of “Program ID” stores the data indicating theidentifier of the executed program. The item of “Parameter” stores thedata indicating the parameter given to the executed program. Thisexample indicates that an engineer U1 executes the program P8 at10:10:10, Jan. 2, 2001 and the engineer U1 executes the program P9 at10:15:10, Jan. 2, 2001.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the sensor state management table managed bythe communication unit 132 of the semiconductor manufacturing device123. Each line of a sensor state history management table 145 stores thesensor state history indicating the state history of each part 133. Thesensor condition history is composed of the items of “Recording date andtime”, “Sensor S1”, “Sensor S2”, - - - . The item of “Recording date andtime” stores the data indicating the date and time when the state valueof each part 127 is recorded.

Each item of “Sensor S1”, “Sensor S2”, - - - stores the data indicatingthe condition of each part 133 measured using each sensor. This exampleindicates that the condition values of the parts 133 are respectively0.01, 0.10, - - - at 10:10:10, Jan. 2, 2001 and the condition values ofthe parts 133 are respectively 0.02, 0.20, - - - at 10:10:11, Jan. 2,2001.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the processing result management tablemanaged by the communication unit 132 of the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123. Each line of a processing result management table 146 storesthe processing results indicating the processing results of the waferdiscriminated by the wafer ID value at the top. The processing resultsare composed of the items of “Wafer ID” and “Wafer image”.

The item of “Wafer ID” stores the data indicating a unique identifierallocated to each wafer. The item of “Wafer image” stores the image dataindicating the wafer surface state. This example indicates that thesurface state of the wafer W1 is a normal pattern and the surface stateof the wafer W2 is an abnormal pattern.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the output authority management tablemanaged by the I/O unit 130 of the semiconductor manufacturing device123. Each line of an output authority management table 147 stores thestate output limit indicating the state output authority of themaintenance operation. The output limit is composed of the items of“Item” and “Output authority”.

The item of “Item” is data indicating each item of the execution state.The item of “Output authority” stores the data indicating whether or notto permit display of each item of the execution state according to theoutput mode. In this example, the output limit is expressed by acharacter string of 2 characters. The character string “XX” meanspermission of output regardless of the output mode, and “X-” meanspermission of output when the value of the output mode is All displayand rejection of output when it is Partial display, and “-X” meansrejection of output when the value of the output mode is A11 display andpermission of output when it is Partial display, and “--” meansrejection of output regardless of the output mode.

The items of “Execution date and time” and “Program kind” indicatepermission of output regardless of the value of the output mode and theitems of “Program ID” and “Parameter” indicate permission of output whenthe value of the output mode is All display and rejection of output whenit is Partial display.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the maintenance result management tablemanaged by the communication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123. Each line of a maintenance result management table 148stores the maintenance results indicating the contents of the messagereceived from the management device 122. The maintenance results arecomposed of “Operation ID”, “Recording date and time”, Technical level”,“Service person ID”, “Operation condition”, “Program ID”, “Parameter”,“Device condition”, and “Output mode”.

The item of “Operation ID” stores the data indicating the identifier ofthe maintenance operation. The item of “Recording date and time” storesthe data indicating the date and time when the maintenance results arerecorded. The item of “Technical level” stores the data indicating thetechnical level of a service person transmitting the maintenanceoperation. The item of “Service person ID” stores the data indicatingthe identifier of a service person transmitting a message. The item of“Operation state” stores the data indicating the progress of themaintenance operation. The item of “Program ID” stores the dataindicating the identifier of the program executed by the maintenanceoperation. The item of “Parameter” stores the data indicating theparameter to be given to the program. The item of “Device state” storesthe device state when the program is executed. The item of “Output mode”stores the output mode of the maintenance operation.

This example indicates that the service person is a service person D1,and the technical level is a higher level, and the output mode isPartial display. Further, the example indicates that the communicationunit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 receives a startnotification at 11:10:10, Jan. 3, 2001, receives a maintenance operationfor requesting reading (P2) of the program execution history at11:15:10, Jan. 3, 2001, receives a maintenance operation for requestingreading (P3) of the sensor condition history at 11:20:10, Jan. 3, 2001,receives a maintenance operation for requesting reading (P4) of theprocessing results at 11:25:10, Jan. 3, 2001, receives a maintenanceoperation for requesting reading (P1) of the program P8 at 11:30:10,Jan. 3, 2001, receives a maintenance operation for requesting editing(P6) of the program P8 at 11:35:10, Jan. 3, 2001, receives a maintenanceoperation for requesting execution (P8) of the program P8 at 11:40:10,Jan. 3, 2001, receives a maintenance operation for requesting reading(P4) of the processing results at 11:45:10, Jan. 3, 2001, and receives acompletion notification at 11:50:10, Jan. 3, 2001. Further, the exampleshows that the values of device state when the unit 131 receives thestart notification and the first maintenance operation are Productionstate and the values of device state when the unit 131 receives theremaining maintenance operations are Standby state.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the maintenance charge list management tablemanaged by the communication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123. Each table constituting a maintenance charge list managementtable 149 stores the maintenance charge list indicating the value to bebilled for a semiconductor manufacturer by the device vendor as acollateral for the maintenance operation. The maintenance charge listmanagement table 149 is composed of a fixed charge management table 150,a discount charge management table 151, and an extra charge managementtable 152.

The fixed charge management table 150 stores the data indicating thefixed charge of maintenance operation for each maintenance operationwhen the maintenance operation is requested for each maintenance center.The discount charge management table 151 stores the data indicating thediscount charge for one program execution when each program is executedin the maintenance operation. The extra charge management table 152stores the data indicating the extra charge of one maintenance operationwhen the output mode is set to each value. In this example, ahigher-level service person can complete maintenance in a shorter timethan a medium-level service person, so that the table 152 indicates thatwhen a service person on the higher technical level executesmaintenance, a higher fixed charge than that for a service person on themedium technical level is billed for a semiconductor manufacturer.

Further, the programs and processing results include the secretinformation of a semiconductor manufacturer more than the programexecution history data and sensor condition history data, so that thetable 151 indicates that when the programs P1, P4, and P6 are executed,the charge is discounted at a higher discount rate than that when theprograms P2 and P3 are executed.

Further, when the device is in the production state, maintenance is moredifficult than that when the device is in other states, so that thetable 151 indicates that when maintenance is to be executed when thevalue of device state data is Production state, the charge is discountedat a lower discount rate than that when maintenance is executed in otherstates.

Further, when All display is designated to the output mode, moreknow-how concerning maintenance is given to the semiconductormanufacturer than that when Partial display is designated, so that thetable 152 indicates that when All display is designated to the outputmode and maintenance is to be executed, an extra charge is billed at ahigher extra rate than that when Partial display is designated to theoutput mode and maintenance is to be executed.

Next, the structure of a message transmitted and received between thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 and the operation device 113 willbe explained. FIG. 13 shows examples of messages of maintenance request,start notification, maintenance operation, maintenance operationresponse, and completion notification which are transmitted and receivedbetween the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 and the operationdevice 113. A maintenance request 160 is a message to be transmitted soas to request maintenance to the operation device 113 by thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 and it is composed of the itemsof “Trouble detection date and time”, “Semiconductor factory ID”,“Semiconductor manufacturing device ID”, “Semiconductor manufacturingdevice kind”, “Status”, and “Output mode”.

The item of “Trouble detection date and time” stores the data indicatingthe date and time when an occurrence of a trouble is detected. The itemof “Semiconductor factory ID” stores the data indicating the identifierof the factory where the semiconductor manufacturing device that anoccurrence of a trouble is detected is installed. The item of“Semiconductor manufacturing device ID” stores the data indicating theidentifier of the semiconductor manufacturing device that the occurrenceof a trouble is detected. The item of “Semiconductor manufacturingdevice kind” stores the data indicating the kind of the semiconductormanufacturing device that the occurrence of a trouble is detected. Theitem of “Status” stores the status for identifying the condition of atrouble. The item of “Output mode” stores the output mode foridentifying the state for outputting the maintenance operation conditionto the semiconductor device.

A start notification 161 is a message to be transmitted so as to notifythe effect of start of the maintenance operation to the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 from the operation device 113 and it iscomposed of the items of “Service person ID”, “Password”, and “Outputmode”.

The item of “Service person ID” stores the data indicating theidentifier of a service person executing the maintenance operation. Theitem of “Password” stores the data indicating the password of a serviceperson executing the maintenance operation. The item of “Output mode”stores the output mode designated by a maintenance request.

A maintenance operation 162 is a message to be transmitted so as tonotify a command to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 from theoperation device 113 and it is composed of the items of “No. ofcommands”, “Program ID”, “Parameter”, “Program ID”, “Parameter”, - - - .The item of “No. of commands” is the data indicating the number ofcommands stored in the maintenance operation. The item of “Program ID”is the data indicating the identifier of the program to be executed bythe semiconductor manufacturing device. The item of “Parameter” is theparameter to be transferred to the program to be executed by thesemiconductor manufacturing device.

A maintenance operation response 163 is a message to be transmitted soas to notify the results of a command to the operation device 113 fromthe semiconductor manufacturing device 123 and it is composed of theitems of “No. of results”, “Result”, “Result”, - - - . The item of “No.of results” is the data indicating the number of command responsesstored in the maintenance operation response. The item of “Result” isthe data indicating the execution results of a program.

A completion notification 164 is a message to be transmitted so as tonotify the effect of completion of the maintenance operation to thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 from the operation device 113 andit is composed of the item of “Total number of commands”. The item of“Total number of commands” is the data indicating the number of commandstransmitted between transmission of the start notification andtransmission of the completion notification.

Then, the process flow of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 andthe operation device 113 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 14 is a flow chartshowing the operation of the communication unit 131 of the semiconductormanufacturing device 123. The communication unit 131 periodicallyexecutes the process indicated in the flow chart, thereby periodicallymonitors the operating condition of the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123.

Firstly, the communication unit 131 confirms whether the unit 131detects that a trouble occurs in the semiconductor manufacturing device123 or not (Step 201). When the communication unit 131 detects anoccurrence of a trouble, the unit 131 generates the maintenance request160 composed of the status for identifying the trouble condition and theoutput mode for identifying the state for outputting the maintenanceoperation condition to the semiconductor device (Step 203) and when theunit 131 does not detect an occurrence of a trouble, the unit 131 endsthe process (Step 205). Next, the communication unit 131 transmits themaintenance request 160 to the management device 112 of the maintenancecenter 110 (Step 204) and ends the process (Step 205).

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the operation of the operation device113. The operation device 113 periodically executes the processindicated in the flow chart, thereby transmits and receives therespective messages of the maintenance request 160, the startnotification 161, the maintenance operation 162, the maintenanceoperation response 163, and the completion notification 164 between theoperation device 113 and the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 inwhich a trouble is detected.

Firstly, the operation device 113 confirms whether the operation device113 receives the maintenance request 160 from the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 or not (Step 211). When the operation device113 receives the maintenance request 160, the operation device 113displays the information included in the maintenance request 160, forexample, on the display unit (Step 213) and when the operation device113 does not receive the maintenance request 160, the operation device113 ends the process (Step 224). Next, the operation device 113 receivesthe identifier and password of a service person which are input by theservice person judging that online troubleshooting is necessary from thekeyboard (Step 214). Next, when the service person presses the startnotification transmission button using the mouse, the operation device113 transmits the start notification 161 composed of the identifier andpassword of the service person which are input by the service person andthe output mode taken out from the maintenance request to thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 transmitting the maintenancerequest 160 (Step 215). Next, the operation device 113 receives thecommand input by the service person from the keyboard so as to transmitthe command to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 and theidentifier of the file for storing the program execution results (Step216). At Step 216, the operation device 113 may receive a plurality ofcommands and file identifiers from the service person.

Next, when the service person presses the maintenance operationtransmission button using the mouse, the operation device 113 transmitsthe maintenance operation 162 composed of the commands input by theservice person to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123transmitting the maintenance request 160 (Step 217). Next, the operationdevice 113 receives the maintenance operation response 163 transmittedfrom the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 in response to thetransmitted maintenance operation 162 (Step 218). Next, the operationdevice 113 takes out all the command responses stored in the maintenanceoperation response 163 and stores the program execution results storedin the respective command responses in the files corresponding to them(Step 219). Next, the operation device 113 displays the effect ofreception of the maintenance operation response 163 on the display unit(Step 220). Next, the operation device 113 receives an input signal fromthe service person (Step 221).

When the service person presses the continuation button using the mouse,the operation device 113 returns to Step 216 and continues the processand when the service person presses the completion notificationtransmission button, the operation device 113 transmits the completionnotification 164 to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123transmitting the maintenance request 160 (Step 223) and ends the process(Step 224).

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication unit131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123. The communicationunit 131 periodically executes the process indicated in the flow chart,thereby executes the processes corresponding to the respective messagesof the start notification 161, the maintenance operation 162, and thecompletion notification 164.

Firstly, the communication unit 131 confirms whether a message arrivesfrom the operation device 113 or not (Step 231). When a message arrives,the communication unit 131 confirms which is the message, the startnotification 161, or the maintenance operation 162, or the completionnotification 164 (Step 233) and when no message arrives, thecommunication unit 131 ends the process (Step 250).

When the message confirmed at Step 233 is the start notification 161,the communication unit 131 reads the service person attribute from theservice person attribute management table 140 (Step 235), confirms theservice person using the read service person attribute (Step 236),stores the output mode taken out from the start notification (Step 237),records the contents of the start notification in the maintenance resultmanagement table 147 (Step 249), and ends the process (Step 250). Whenthe message confirmed at Step 233 is the maintenance operation 162, thecommunication unit 131 takes out all the commands from the maintenanceoperation 162 (Step 238). The communication unit 131 repeats Steps 239to 245 for the respective taken-out commands (Steps 246, 247). Firstly,the communication unit 131 reads the device state indicating thecondition of the device at that point of time from the control unit 132(Step 239). Next, the communication unit 131 reads the program executionauthority designated by the command from the execution authoritymanagement table 143 (Step 240). Next, the communication unit 131confirms whether the program execution authority designated by thecommand is given to the service person or not on the basis of theservice person attribute and device state (Step 241).

When the execution authority is given, the communication unit 131transmits an execution request composed of the program and parameterdesignated by the command and the stored output mode to the control unit132 (Step 243), receives an execution request response from the controlunit 132 (Step 244), and stores the program execution results taken outfrom the execution request response in the maintenance operationresponse 163 (Step 245) and when the execution authority is not given,the communication unit 131 stores the effect in the maintenanceoperation response 163 (Step 245). The communication unit 131 repeatsSteps 239 to 245 for the respective taken-out commands, then transmitsthe maintenance operation response 163 to the operation device 113 (Step248), records the contents of the maintenance operation 162 in themaintenance result management table 147 (Step 249), and ends the process(Step 250). When the message confirmed at Step 233 is the completionnotification 164, the communication unit 131 reads the maintenanceresults from the maintenance result management table 147 (Step 251),reads the maintenance charge list from the maintenance charge listmanagement table 148 (Step 252), calculates the maintenance charge forthe concerned maintenance using the maintenance charge list andmaintenance results (Step 253), requests the I/O unit 130 via thecontrol unit 132 so as to display the information concerning themaintenance charge, for example, on the display unit (Step 254), recordsthe contents of the completion notification 164 in the maintenanceresult management table 147 (Step 249), and ends the process (Step 250).Steps 239 and 240 may be interchanged in the processing sequence.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the operation of the control unit 132 ofthe semiconductor manufacturing device 123. The control unit 132periodically executes the process indicated in the flow chart, therebyexecutes the program according to the execution request received fromthe communication unit 131.

Firstly, the control unit 132 confirms whether the execution request andoutput mode are received from the communication unit 131 or not (Step261). When the execution request and output mode are received, thecontrol unit 132 executes the program designated by the executionrequest using the parameter corresponding to it (Step 263) and when theprogram execution request does not arrive, the control unit 132 ends theprocess (Step 266). Next, the control unit 132 transmits the executioncondition composed of the program execution date and time, programidentifier, and parameter and the output mode received from the controlunit 132 to the I/O unit 130 (Step 264). Next, the control unit 132transmits an execution request response composed of the programexecution results to the communication unit (Step 265) and ends theprocess (Step 266).

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing the operation of the I/O unit 130 of thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123. The I/O unit 130 periodicallyexecutes the process indicated in the flow chart, thereby outputs theexecution condition, for example, on the display unit.

Firstly, the I/O unit 130 confirms whether the I/O unit 130 receives theexecution state and output mode from the control unit 132 or not (Step271). When the execution condition and output mode are received, the I/Ounit 130 reads the state output authority from the output authoritymanagement table (Step 273) and when the execution state and output modeare not received, the I/O unit 130 ends the process (Step 276). Next,the I/O unit 130 confirms whether the output authority of each item ofthe execution state is given or not on the basis of the received outputmode (Step 274). Next, the I/O unit 130 displays the item of theexecution state to which the output authority is given, for example, onthe display unit (Step 275) and ends the process (Step 276).

Then, the screen on the display unit on which the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 and the operation device 113 shown in FIG. 1are displayed will be explained. FIG. 19 shows an example of themaintenance operation screen displayed on the display unit of theoperation device 113 at Step 213 of the flow chart shown in FIG. 15.

A maintenance operation screen 280 is a screen for indicating thecontents of the maintenance request 160 including the status and outputmode to a service person and receiving an instruction of transmission ofthe start notification 161, transmission of the maintenance operation162, continuation of transmission of the maintenance operation 162, ortransmission of the completion notification 164 from the service personand it is composed of a maintenance request panel 281, an action panel282, a start notification panel 287, and a maintenance operation panel290.

The maintenance request panel 281 is a panel for displaying the contentsof the maintenance request 160 received from the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 to a service person. This example indicatesthat the trouble detection date and time is 2001:0102:10:15:10, and theidentifier of the semiconductor factory is F1, and the identifier of thesemiconductor manufacturing device is E1, and the kind of thesemiconductor manufacturing device is Inspection device, and the statusis 01234, and the output mode is Partial display.

The action panel 282 is a panel for instructing transmission of thestart notification 161, transmission of the maintenance operation 162,continuation of transmission of the maintenance operation 162, ortransmission of the completion notification 164 by a service person andit is composed of a start notification transmission button 283, amaintenance operation transmission button 284, a maintenance operationcontinuation button 285, and a completion notification button 286. Thestart notification transmission button 283 is a button for instructingtransmission of the start notification 152 by a service person and whenthe service person presses the button using the mouse, the button 283transmits the start notification 161 composed of the service person IDand password input by the service person via a start notification panel287 and the output mode taken out from the maintenance request 160 tothe semiconductor manufacturing device 123 transmitting the maintenancerequest 160. The maintenance operation transmission button 284 is abutton for instructing transmission of the maintenance operation 162 bya service person and when the service person presses the button usingthe mouse, the button 284 transmits the maintenance operation 162composed of one or more commands input by the service person via themaintenance operation panel 290 to the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123 transmitting the maintenance request 160. The maintenanceoperation continuation button 285 is a button for instructingcontinuation of transmission of the maintenance operation 162 by aservice person and when the service person presses the button using themouse, the button 285 clears the command data input by the serviceperson via the maintenance operation panel 290. The service person caninput a new command by the cleared maintenance operation panel 290. Thecompletion notification button 286 is a button for instructingtransmission of the completion notification 164 by a service person andwhen the service person presses the button using the mouse, the button286 transmits the completion notification 164 composed of the dataindicating the number of commands transmitted between transmission ofthe start notification 161 and transmission of the completionnotification 164 to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123transmitting the maintenance request 160.

The start notification panel 287 is a panel for inputting the identifierand password of a service person to be stored in the start notification161 by the service person and it is composed of a service person IDfield 288 and a password field 289.

The service person ID field 288 is a field for inputting the own serviceperson ID by the service person using the keyboard and the passwordfield 289 is a field for inputting the own password by the serviceperson using the keyboard.

The maintenance operation panel 290 is a panel for inputting one or morecommands to be stored in the maintenance operation 162 and theidentifier of the file for storing the program execution results by aservice person and displaying, when the maintenance operation response163 is received, the effect thereof and it is composed of a command list291 and a status panel 296. The command list 291 is a list for inputtingone or more commands to be stored in the maintenance operation 153 by aservice person and it is composed of a No. field 292, a program ID field293 a parameter field 294, and a result file ID field 295. The No. field292 is a field for inputting the command execution sequence by a serviceperson using the keyboard, and the program ID field 293 is a field forinputting the identifier of the program to be executed by thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 by the service person using thekeyboard, and the parameter field 294 is a field for inputting theparameter to be transferred to the program to be executed by thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 by the service person using thekeyboard, and the result file ID field 295 is a field for inputting theidentifier of the file for storing the program execution results by theservice person using the keyboard.

The status panel 296 is a panel for displaying, when the maintenanceoperation response 163 is received, the effect thereof, and when theservice person presses the maintenance operation transmission button,the status panel 296 displays a character string of, for example,“Maintenance operation is transmitted.”, and when the maintenanceoperation response 163 is received from the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123, the status panel 296 displays a character string of, forexample, “Maintenance operation response is received.”

FIG. 20 shows an example of the execution state output screen displayedon the display unit of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 atStep 275 of the process flow shown in FIG. 18. An execution state outputscreen 300 is a screen for displaying the state of the maintenanceoperation to an engineer and it is composed of an execution state panel301. The execution state panel 301 is a panel for displaying the stateof the maintenance operation to the engineer and it is composed of anexecution state list 302.

The execution state list 302 is a list for displaying the state of themaintenance operation to an engineer and it is composed of an executiondate and time field 303, a program kind field 304, a program ID field305, and a parameter field 306. The execution date and time field 303displays the data indicating the date and time when the program isexecuted. The program kind field 304 displays the data indicating theprogram kind. The program ID field 305 displays the data indicating theidentifier of the program to be executed by the maintenance operation.The parameter field 306 displays the data indicating the parameter to begiven to the program. This example is an example when the output mode isPartial display. Actually, the reading (P2) of the program executionhistory is executed at 11:15:10, Jan. 3, 2001, and the reading (P3) ofthe sensor condition history is executed at 11:20:10, Jan. 3, 2001, andthe reading (P4) of the processing results is executed at 11:25:10, Jan.3, 2001, and the reading (P1) of the program P8 is executed at 11:30:10,Jan. 3, 2001, and the editing (P6) of the program P8 is executed at11:35:10, Jan. 3, 2001, and the execution (P8) of the program P8 isexecuted at 11:40:10, Jan. 3, 2001, and the reading (P4) of theprocessing results is executed at 11:45:10, Jan. 3, 2001, though onlythe execution date and time and program kind are displayed.

FIG. 21 shows an example of the maintenance charge notification screendisplayed on the display unit of the semiconductor manufacturing device123 at Step 254 of the process flow shown in FIG. 16. A maintenancecharge notification screen 310 is a screen for indicating theinformation concerning the maintenance charge to an engineer and it iscomposed of a maintenance charge notification panel 311.

The maintenance charge notification panel 311 is a panel for displayingthe value to be billed for a semiconductor manufacturer by the devicevendor to the engineer. This example indicates that the maintenancecharge is 6000 yen, and the marked charge is 30000 yen, and the discountcharge is 25000 yen, and the extra charge is 1000 yen. The exampleadditionally indicates that the marked charge is 30000 yen because thetechnical level of a service person is a higher level, and 2000 yen isdiscounted because the program execution history in the production stateis read, and 2000 yen is discounted because the sensor state history inthe production state is read, and 7000 yen is further discounted becausethe processing results are read in the standby state, and 7000 yen isdiscounted because the program is read in the standby state, and 7000yen is discounted because the program is edited in the standby state,and 1000 yen is surcharged because Partial display is designated to theoutput mode.

As mentioned above, in the system of this embodiment, the semiconductormanufacturing device and operation device are connected via Internet,and the operation device transmits the maintenance operation to thesemiconductor manufacturing device, and the semiconductor manufacturingdevice executes the process according to the received maintenanceoperation, generates maintenance charge information according to thecontents of the executed process, and outputs the generated chargeinformation on the screen of the semiconductor manufacturing device, sothat it is possible to execute control and thorough services and billingaccording to the contents of the maintenance operation performed by thesemiconductor manufacturing device.

Further, the semiconductor manufacturing device holds the dataindicating the technical level of a service person in the service personattribute and generates maintenance charge information according to themaintenance attribute data of a service person transmitting themaintenance operation, so that it is possible to execute control andthorough services and billing according to the technical degree held bya service person.

Further, the semiconductor manufacturing device holds the dataindicating the processing state of the semiconductor manufacturingdevice in the device state data and generates maintenance chargeinformation according to the device state data at the point of time ofexecution of the process, so that it is possible to execute control andthorough services and billing according to the possibility of adverselyaffecting the production process of a semiconductor manufacturer.

Further, the semiconductor manufacturing device stores the use historyinformation indicating the history of use of the semiconductormanufacturing device and generates maintenance charge informationaccording to the kind of use history information read according to themaintenance operation, so that it is possible to execute control andthorough services and billing according to the secrete informationobtained from a semiconductor manufacturer.

Further, the semiconductor manufacturing device outputs the processingstate executed according to the maintenance operation to an engineer andgenerates maintenance charge information according to the contents ofthe output state, so that it is possible to execute control and thoroughservices and billing according to the know-how concerning maintenanceprovided by the device supply vendor.

Further, the semiconductor manufacturing device holds the service personattribute indicating the attribute of a service person and the programexecution authority indicating the attribute conditions necessary forprocess execution, and when the maintenance operation is received fromthe operation device, reads the service person attribute and programexecution authority, and only when the attribute of the service personattribute does not satisfy the condition of the program executioncondition, can limit the access according to the attribute of theservice person.

Further, the semiconductor manufacturing device holds the device stateindicating the state of the semiconductor manufacturing device and theprogram execution authority indicating the state necessary for processexecution, and when the maintenance operation is received from theoperation device, reads the device state at that point of time and theprogram execution authority, and only when the state in the device statesatisfies the condition in the program execution condition, executes theprocess according to the maintenance operation, so that it is possibleto limit the access according to the device state.

Further, the semiconductor manufacturing device holds the output modefor identifying the state for outputting the maintenance operation stateto the semiconductor device and the state output authority indicatingthe output mode condition necessary to output the maintenance operationstate, and when the maintenance operation is received from the operationdevice, reads the output mode and state output authority, and only whenthe state in the output mode satisfies the condition in the state outputauthority, outputs the maintenance operation state to the semiconductordevice, so that it is possible to limit the output according to theoutput mode.

The embodiment of the present invention is explained above. However, thepresent invention may be varied variously in addition to it. The secondembodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. In the firstembodiment, the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 calculates amaintenance charge using the maintenance charge list input at thefactory of the device supply vendor at the time of shipment. However, inthis embodiment, the maintenance charge is calculated using themaintenance charge list supplied from the operation device 113 of themaintenance center 110 after delivery from the factory.

In the system to which the present invention is applied, a new functionindicated below is added to the operation device 113 and thecommunication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123.However, the constitution other than it is the same as that of thesystem explained in the first embodiment.

When the service person judges that online supply of the maintenancecharge list is necessary, he inputs the maintenance charge list usingthe keyboard and presses the charge list operation button using themouse. The operation device 113 also has a function for transmitting amessage composed of the maintenance charge list input by the serviceperson (hereinafter recorded as a charge list operation) to thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 online via the management device112 and the management device 122.

The communication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123also has a function for, when the unit 131 receives the charge listoperation from the management device 122, taking out the maintenancecharge list from the received charge list operation and recording it inthe maintenance charge list management table 149.

Then, the process flow of the operation device 113 and the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained. FIG. 22 is aflow chart showing the operation of the operation device 113. Theoperation device 113 executes the process indicated in the flow chart,thereby transmits the charge list operation to the specificsemiconductor manufacturing device 123.

Firstly, the operation device 113 receives the maintenance charge listwhich is input by a service person judging that online supply of themaintenance charge list is necessary using the keyboard (Step 321).Next, the operation device 113 receives the transmission destination ofthe charge list operation which is input by the service person inputtingthe maintenance charge list using the keyboard (Step 322). Next, whenthe service person presses the charge list operation transmission buttonusing the mouse, the operation device 113 transmits the charge listoperation composed of the maintenance charge list input by the serviceperson to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 designated by theservice person (Step 323) and ends the process (Step 324). The processsequence of Steps 321 and 322 may be interchanged.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication unit131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123. The communicationunit 131 periodically executes the process indicated in the flow chart,thereby executes the process according to the charge list operationreceived from the operation device 113.

Firstly, the communication unit 131 confirms whether the unit 131receives the charge list operation from the operation device 113 or not(Step 331). When the unit 131 receives the charge list operation, theunit 131 takes out the maintenance charge list from the charge listoperation and stores it in the maintenance charge list management table149 (Step 333) and ends the process (Step 334). Even when the chargelist operation does not arrive, the communication unit 131 ends theprocess (Step 334).

Then, the screen to be displayed on the display unit of the operationdevice 113 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained. FIG. 24 shows an exampleof the maintenance charge setting screen to be displayed on the displayunit of the operation device 113 at Step 321 of the process flow shownin FIG. 22.

A maintenance charge setting screen 340 is a screen for receiving aninstruction of transmission of the maintenance charge list and chargelist operation from a service person and it is composed of a maintenancecharge list panel 341, a transmission destination panel 347, and anaction panel 345. The maintenance charge list panel 341 is a panel forreceiving the maintenance charge list from the service person and it iscomposed of a marked charge list 342, a discount charge list 343, and anextra charge list 344. The marked charge list 342 is a list forinputting the data concerning the marked charge to be stored in thecharge list operation by the service person. The data items to be storedin the list are the same as those of the marked charge management table150 constituting the maintenance charge list management table 149explained in FIG. 12, so that the explanation therefor will be omitted.The discount charge list 343 is a list for inputting the data concerningthe discount charge to be stored in the charge list operation by theservice person. The data items to be stored in the list are also thesame as those of the discount charge management table 151 constitutingthe maintenance charge list management table 149 explained in FIG. 12,so that the explanation therefor will be omitted. The extra charge list344 is a list for inputting the data concerning the extra charge to bestored in the charge list operation by the service person. The dataitems to be stored in the list are also the same as those of the extracharge management table 152 constituting the maintenance charge listmanagement table 149 explained in FIG. 12, so that the explanationtherefor will be omitted.

The transmission destination panel 347 is a panel for receiving thetransmission destination of the charge list operation from a serviceperson and it is composed of a semiconductor factory list 348, atransmission destination panel 351, a semiconductor manufacturing devicelist 352, and a transmission destination panel 355. The semiconductorfactory list 348 is a list for indicating the identifier of thesemiconductor factory 120 capable of transmitting the charge listoperation to the service person and it is composed of a No. field 349and a semiconductor factory field 350. The No. field 349 is a field forindicating the serial numbers of the list and the semiconductor factoryfield 350 is a field for indicating the identifier of the semiconductorfactory 120 capable of transmitting the charge list operation. Thetransmission destination panel 351 is a panel for indicating theidentifier of the semiconductor factory 120 designated by the serviceperson and when the service person presses the identifier of a specificcandidate of the semiconductor factory list 347 using the mouse, theidentifier of the pressed semiconductor factory 120 is displayed inconnection with it.

The semiconductor manufacturing device list 352 is a list for indicatingthe identifier of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 capable oftransmitting the charge list operation to the service person and it iscomposed of a No. field 353 and a semiconductor manufacturing devicefield 354. The No. field 353 is a field for indicating the serialnumbers of the list, and the semiconductor manufacturing device field354 is a field for indicating the identifier of the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 capable of transmitting the charge listoperation, and when the service person presses the identifier of aspecific candidate of the semiconductor factory list 348 using themouse, the identifier of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123capable of transmitting the charge list operation in the pressedsemiconductor factory is displayed in connection with it.

The transmission destination panel 355 is a panel for indicating theidentifier of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 designated bythe service person and when the service person presses the identifier ofa specific candidate of the semiconductor manufacturing device list 353using the mouse, the identifier of the pressed semiconductormanufacturing device 123 is displayed in connection with it.

The action panel 345 is a screen for receiving an instruction oftransmission of the charge list operation from a service person and itis composed of a charge list operation transmission button 346. Thecharge list operation transmission button 346 is a button forinstructing transmission of the charge list operation by the serviceperson and when the service person presses the button using the mouse,the button 346 transmits the charge list operation composed of themaintenance charge list which is input by the service person via themaintenance charge list panel 241 to the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123 designated by the service person via the transmissiondestination panel 346.

As mentioned above, in the system of this embodiment, the system of thefirst embodiment is modified so that the operation device 113 transmitsthe maintenance charge list to the semiconductor manufacturing device123 and the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 generates chargeinformation using the received maintenance charge list, so that themaintenance charge list can be easily changed.

The third embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. In thethird embodiment, the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 limits theoutput to the I/O unit using the state output authority input at thefactory of the device supply vendor at the time of shipment. However, inthis embodiment, the output to the I/O unit 130 is limited using thecondition output authority supplied from the operation device 113 of themaintenance center 110 after delivery from the factory.

In the system to which the present invention is applied, a new functionindicated below is added to the operation device 113 and thecommunication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123.However, the constitution other than it is the same as that of thesystem explained in the first embodiment.

When the service person judges that online supply of the state outputauthority is necessary, he inputs the state output authority using thekeyboard and presses the state output operation transmission buttonusing the mouse. The operation device 113 also has a function fortransmitting a message composed of the state output authority input bythe service person (hereinafter recorded as an output authorityoperation) to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 online via themanagement device 112 and the management device 122.

The communication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123also has a function for, when the unit 131 receives the output authorityoperation from the management device 122, taking out the state outputauthority from the received output authority operation and transmittingthe taken-out state output authority to the I/O unit 130 via the controlunit 132. The I/O unit 130 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123also has a function for, when the unit 130 receives the condition outputauthority from the communication unit 131, storing the received stateoutput authority in the output authority management table 146.

Then, the process flow of the operation device 113 and the semiconductormanufacturing device 123 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained. FIG. 25 is aflow chart showing the operation of the operation device 113. Theoperation device 113 executes the process indicated in the flow chart,thereby transmits the output authority operation to the specificsemiconductor manufacturing device 123.

Firstly, the operation device 113 receives the condition outputauthority which is input by a service person judging that online supplyof the condition output authority is necessary using the keyboard (Step361). Next, the operation device 113 receives the transmissiondestination of the output authority operation which is input by theservice person inputting the condition output authority using thekeyboard (Step 362). Next, when the service person presses the outputauthority operation transmission button using the mouse, the operationdevice 113 transmits the output authority operation composed of thecondition output authority input by the service person to thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 designated by the service person(Step 363) and ends the process (Step 364). The process sequence ofSteps 361 and 362 may be interchanged.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication unit131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123. The communicationunit 131 periodically executes the process indicated in the flow chart,thereby executes the process according to the output authority operationreceived from the operation device 113.

Firstly, the communication unit 131 confirms whether the unit 131receives the output authority operation from the operation device 113 ornot (Step 371). When the communication unit 131 receives the outputauthority operation, the unit 131 takes out the state output authorityfrom the output authority operation, transmits the taken-out stateoutput authority to the I/O unit 130 via the control unit 132 (Step373), and ends the process (Step 374). Even when the communication unit131 does not receive the output authority operation, the unit 131 endsthe process (Step 374).

Then, the screen to be displayed on the display unit of the operationdevice 113 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained. FIG. 27 shows an exampleof the state output authority setting screen to be displayed on thedisplay unit of the operation device 113 at Step 361 of the process flowshown in FIG. 25. A state output authority setting screen 380 is ascreen for receiving an instruction of transmission of the state outputauthority and output authority operation from a service person and it iscomposed of a state output authority panel 381, a transmissiondestination panel 385, and an action panel 383.

The state output authority panel 381 is a panel for receiving the stateoutput authority from the service person and it is composed of a stateoutput authority list 382. The state output authority list 382 is a listfor inputting the state output authority to be stored in the outputauthority operation by the service person. The data items to be storedin the list are the same as those of the state output authorityconstituting the output authority management table 147 explained in FIG.10, so that the explanation therefor will be omitted. The transmissiondestination panel 385 is a panel for receiving the transmissiondestination of a maintenance request from the service person. The panelis the same as the transmission destination panel 347 explained in FIG.24, so that the explanation therefor will be omitted.

The action panel 383 is a screen for receiving an instruction oftransmission of the output authority operation from the service personand it is composed of an output authority operation transmission button384. The output authority operation transmission button 384 is a buttonfor instructing transmission of the output authority operation by theservice person and when the service person presses the button using themouse, the button 384 transmits the output authority operation composedof the state output authority input by the service person via the stateoutput authority panel 381 to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123designated by service person via the transmission destination panel 385.

As mentioned above, in the system of this embodiment, the system of thefirst embodiment is modified so that the operation device transmits thestate output authority to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 andthe semiconductor manufacturing device 123 limits the output of themaintenance operation state using the received output authority data, sothat the state output authority can be easily changed.

The fourth embodiment of the present invention will be explained indetail. FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing the constitution of a remotemaintenance system of a semiconductor manufacturing device to which thepresent invention is applied. In the first embodiment, the maintenancecenter 110 and one or more semiconductor factories 120 are connected viaInternet 100 and a maintenance request is transmitted to the samemaintenance center. However, in this embodiment, one or more maintenancecenters 110 and one or more semiconductor factories 120 are connectedvia Internet 100 and thorough billing is enabled according to thetransmission destination of a maintenance request.

In the system shown in FIG. 28, two maintenance centers 110 and twofactories 120 are indicated. However, actually, more than twomaintenance centers 110 and factories 120 may be installed. Further, themaintenance centers 110 respectively may belong to different maintenancevendors or the same maintenance vendor and the factories 120respectively may belong to different semiconductor manufacturers or thesame semiconductor manufacturer.

In the system to which the present invention is applied, a new functionto be explained next is added to the communication unit 131 of thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123. However, the constitution ofeach device other than it is the same as that of the system explained inthe first embodiment.

The communication unit 131 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123has a function for periodically monitoring the operating condition ofthe semiconductor manufacturing device 123, when the unit 131 detects anoccurrence of a trouble, generating a maintenance request composed ofthe status for identifying the condition of the trouble and the outputmode for identifying the state for outputting the maintenance operationstate to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123, selecting one ormore maintenance centers 110 to be notified of the generated maintenancerequest or candidates of the operation device 113, displaying theselected candidates, for example, on the display unit of the I/O unit130, and transmitting the maintenance request 160 to the managementdevice 112 of the maintenance center 110 designated by an engineer fromthe displayed candidates.

Then, the process flow of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123shown in FIG. 28 will be explained. FIG. 29 is a flow chart showing theoperation of the communication unit 131 of the semiconductormanufacturing device 123. The communication unit 131 periodicallyexecutes the process indicated in the flow chart, thereby periodicallymonitors the operating condition of the semiconductor manufacturingdevice 123.

Firstly, the communication unit 131 confirms whether the unit 131detects that a trouble occurs in the semiconductor manufacturing device123 or not (Step 401). When the communication unit 131 detects anoccurrence of a trouble, the unit 131 generates the maintenance request160 composed of the status for identifying the trouble condition and theoutput mode for indicating identifying of the state for outputting themaintenance operation state to the semiconductor device (Step 403) andwhen the unit 131 does not detect an occurrence of a trouble, the unit131 ends the process (Step 408).

Next, the communication unit 131 selects one or more candidates ofmaintenance center 110 to be notified of the generated maintenancerequest 160 according a predetermined rule (Step 404). Next, thecommunication unit 131 displays the selected candidates, for example, onthe display unit of the I/O unit 130 (Step 405). Next, the communicationunit 131 receives an actual transmission destination selected by anengineer from the displayed candidates (Step 406). Next, thecommunication unit 131 transmits the maintenance request 160 to themanagement device 112 of the maintenance center 110 designated by theengineer (Step 407) and ends the process (Step 408).

Then, the screen to be displayed on the display unit of the I/O unit 130of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 shown in FIG. 28 will beexplained. FIG. 30 shows an example of the maintenance requesttransmission destination setting screen to be displayed on the I/O unit130 of the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 at Step 405 of theprocess flow shown in FIG. 29.

A maintenance request transmission destination setting screen 410 is ascreen for indicating the selected candidates of the maintenance center110 to an engineer and receiving an instruction of transmission of thetransmission destination of the maintenance request 160 and themaintenance request 160 from the engineer and it is composed of amaintenance request panel 411, an action panel 412, and transmissiondestination panel 414.

The maintenance request panel 411 is a panel for displaying the contentsof the maintenance request 160 to be transmitted to the engineer. Inthis example, the same contents as those of the maintenance requestpanel 281 shown in FIG. 19 are indicated. The action panel 412 is apanel for instructing transmission of the maintenance request 160 by theengineer and it is composed of a maintenance request transmission button413. The maintenance request transmission button 413 is a button forinstructing transmission of the maintenance request 160 by the engineerand when the engineer presses the button using the mouse, the button 413transmits the maintenance request 160 to the transmission destinationdesignated by the engineer from the candidates via the transmissiondestination panel 414.

The transmission destination panel 414 is a panel for indicating thecandidates of the maintenance center 110 selected by communication unit131 to the engineer and receiving the transmission destination of themaintenance request 160 from the engineer and it is composed of amaintenance center candidate list 415 and a transmission destinationpanel 418. The maintenance center candidate list 415 is a list forindicating the candidates of the maintenance center 110 selected by thecommunication unit 131 to the engineer and it is composed of a No. panelfield 416 and a maintenance center candidate field 417. The No. field416 is a field for displaying the serial numbers of candidates and themaintenance center candidate field 417 is a field for displaying theidentifiers of the candidate maintenance centers 110.

The transmission destination panel 418 is a panel for displaying thetransmission destination designated by the engineer and when theengineer presses the candidate of the maintenance center candidate list415 using the mouse, the identifier of the pressed maintenance center110 is displayed in connection with it.

Further, the service person may directly input the identifier of adifferent maintenance center 110 from the displayed candidate to thetransmission destination panel 418.

As mentioned above, in the system of this embodiment, one or moresemiconductor manufacturing devices 123 and one or more operationdevices 113 are connected via Internet 100, and the semiconductormanufacturing devices 123 monitor an occurrence of a trouble in thesemiconductor devices 123, and when a device 123 detects an occurrenceof a trouble, the device 123 generates a status for identifying thecondition of the trouble, decides the operation device 113 to benotified of the status, and notifies the decided operation device 113 ofthe status, and the operation device 113 decides the troubleshooting forthe trouble of the semiconductor device 123 on the basis of the notifiedstatus and transmits the maintenance operation based on thetroubleshooting to the semiconductor manufacturing device 123, and thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 executes the process according tothe received maintenance operation, generates charge informationconcerning maintenance according to the identifier of the operationdevice which is notified of the status information, and outputs thegenerated charge information on the screen of the semiconductormanufacturing device 123, so that thorough billing can be executedaccording the maintenance request destination. Further, when thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 detects an occurrence of atrouble, the device 123 generates candidate information indicating oneor more candidates of the operation device 113 to be notified of thestatus, outputs the generated candidate information, and notifies thestatus to the operation device 113 designated by the user of thesemiconductor manufacturing device 123 from the output candidates, sothat the maintenance request destination can be easily designated.Further, the semiconductor manufacturing device 123 notifies the statusalso to a different maintenance center 110 from the candidatesdesignated and displayed by the engineer, so that the maintenancerequest destination can be flexibly designated.

As mentioned above, according to the present invention, control andthough services and billing according to the contents of the maintenanceoperation executed by the semiconductor manufacturing device and themaintenance request destination can be executed.

Further, access limit according to the attribute of a service person,access limit according to the state of the device, and output limitaccording to the output mode can be executed.

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A remote maintenance method for a system that anindustrial device for executing a specific process and an operationdevice for maintaining said industrial device are connected to eachother via a network, characterized in that said operation devicetransmits command information indicating a maintenance command to saidindustrial device and said industrial device executes said processaccording to said received command information, holds state informationindicating a state of said process of said industrial device andcondition information indicating a condition concerning said stateinformation necessary to execute said process according to said commandinformation, reads said state information and said condition informationwhen said industrial device receives said command information from saidoperation device, and executes said process according to said commandinformation only when said state in said state information satisfiessaid condition in said condition information.
 15. A remote maintenancemethod according to claim 14, wherein said industrial device is asemiconductor manufacturing device. 16-33. (canceled)
 34. An industrialdevice for receiving a maintenance operation from an operation deviceconnected via a network by remote control, comprising communicationmeans for receiving command information indicating a command ofmaintenance from said operation device and processing means forexecuting a process according to said command information received bysaid communication means, wherein said processing means holds stateinformation indicating a process state of said industrial device andsaid communication means holds condition information indicating acondition concerning said state necessary to execute said processaccording to said command information, obtains said state informationfrom said processing means when said communication means receives saidcommand information from said operation device, reads said conditioninformation, and permits execution of said process according to saidcommand information only when said state of said state informationsatisfies said condition of said condition information.
 35. Anindustrial device according to claim 34, wherein said industrial deviceis a semiconductor manufacturing device. 36-51. (canceled)